


Sweet Home

by BellaMorgan



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Family, Happy Ending, Kids, M/M, Marriage, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:33:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22108651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellaMorgan/pseuds/BellaMorgan
Summary: Alec and Magnus’ marriage of three years faces a few challenges with their jobs and their families.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 17
Kudos: 107





	1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1 – The Beginning**

“Babe?” Alec called from the kitchen, he needed his husband for a moment and he didn’t know where he had run off to when he was just standing right there, “Magnus?”

“Daddy?” Max ran straight into the back of Alec’s legs, causing him to bend forward and crack his knees on the counter in front of him. 

“Ouch,” Alec yelp out at the screaming pain now radiating from his knees, which were already in pain from other activities involving adult time and their wooden floors, “Max.” He held his hands in the air as they were covered in a beef mixture of his BBQ meatloaf he was prepping for dinner, “Where’s papa?”

“I don’t know?” Max pitched up like he was asking a question causing Alec to twist around slightly to look down and over at him. 

Alec just sighed, “Max, I’m making dinner. I need you to go play.”

Max let go of him but didn’t make it far; he went over to their small table kitchen table that sat four. His coloring books from earlier in the day when his sister Izzy was over watching Max were still there. Max pulled them close to color while chatting away to Alec the entire time that Alec spent making dinner. BBQ meatloaf with mac and cheese and buttered corn. The side dishes were mainly for Max as he would never touch the meatloaf, but Alec continued to try to include red meats into his diet. Max’s doctors always said Max could use a little more iron, but his child was a picky eater so Alec tried and sometimes he would eat it and sometimes he wouldn’t. 

“Max, I’m going to get papa.”

“Wait!” Max climbed down from his chair and stood next to him, “Let’s go.”

Alec picked Max up and toted him out of the kitchen where the meatloaf was still baking the last few minutes and the mac and cheese and corn were staying warm on the stove. He knew when Magnus didn’t answer; he would be in the upstairs office most likely working. 

Max giggled as Alec shifted him to his other hip to trek up the stairs and to their shared home office. 

Their home set in a small community outside of the major city. Calm, quiet community with excellent schools that took them over a year to settle on since this would be the home they would stay in throughout their children’s education, and they meant children because they were going to have more. Maybe. Hopefully. The paperwork for a second child was stuck in some sort of limbo for the last year and the longer it went on the more Alec lost hope of a second child. They moved in two days before they brought Max home from the hospital and away from his teenage mother. He was a closed adoption at her request. Max would be turning four within the next few weeks. 

Their two-story house also had a finished basement with a total of three bedrooms and a den. The den was where Alec had set up two desks. One for him with his laptop and his gaming. He never brought his work home since he was a technical writer on car manuals and all of those had to be stored on his work server — one desk for Magnus with his laptop and many, many accounting books. 

The only problem Alec had with the house was two bedrooms were upstairs with a bathroom and the den with the master bedroom with ensuite was on the first floor. 

He heard Magnus on his phone the closer he got to the door and Max squealed in his arms to be sat down. Max took off to the open door and plowed right into the bean chair they placed in the corner for him whenever he wanted to be in there with him. 

“-I know, Will, I can see that.” Magnus smiled when he saw Alec come into the doorway and lead against the door jam. 

Alec points towards the floor, really meaning the first floor, “Dinners about ready.”

“Oh,” The voice on the other end of the line spoke softly, “Hey, Alec, sorry for calling Magnus away on a Friday night.” Will, Magnus’ boss, spoke up. 

Alec nodded, “It’s okay, Will, I understand.” He didn’t. But he wasn’t going to say that out loud. He never did, nor would he ever. Magnus loved his job and Alec was glad he could do a job he loved so much that it wasn’t a drain on his life, but it was family time, and he had already been at the office all day. Magnus had barely been home two hours and he was already in his office on his phone with his boss about another problem.

“I gotta go, Will.” Magnus spoke up; his eyes did not leave Alec, “Bye.” He hit the end button on his iPhone and waited for his screen to blank out to make sure the call was completely hung up before holding his hand out, “Hey, baby.” Magnus produced the best smile he owned for that moment. He left work and went straight for daycare for Max. Then by the time he got home, his phone was going crazy with text and email. He wasn’t focusing on his family and he didn’t like that. “I’m sorry.”

Alec kicked off the wall and went to Magnus, spying to make sure Max was still goofing off in his bean chair, “Hey.”

“I made a decision that I’m going to buy the house an early Christmas present.” Magnus tugged on Alec’s hand until he was sitting on his lap. 

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’s neck, “I wasn’t aware we bought our house Christmas presents, to begin with?”

Magnus rubbed his hand down Alec’s back until he got to the edge of his shirt then he went under his shirt before making the journey back up, loving the feeling of skin on skin, “Mmmm, yep. This year, we are.” Magnus put his other hand on Alec’s thigh, moved his hand down to rest on his knee, nodded at Alec’s wince, “Full carpeting.”

Alec laughed, the present was not what he was expecting, but he loved that idea. 

“I did enjoy my gift this morning.”

“That wasn’t a gift,” Alec grinned, “That was a preview.”

“Preview?”

The beeping from the kitchen broke the air and Alec looked towards the door, “Dinner’s ready.” Alec stood up, “Max, you and papa, wash up for dinner.” He winked at his husband and left the room. 

Magnus had seconds to brace himself before his almost-four-year-old threw his entire body at him,”Ohfom,” He wasn’t sure what that sound was he made, but Max giggled and his husband’s laugh echoed along the stairs. 

…

Alec sat nestled in the corner of the couch with a book open on his blanket-covered lap. He had soft music playing in the background, it sounded classical to the normal ears but it was really a video game soundtrack to one of his retro favorites; Final Fantasy. He had opened his book over an hour ago when Magnus took Max up for bath and bedtime; he was stuck on the same page ever since. He was really staring at his left hand while twisting his black wedding band around his finger, thinking. Both of their bands were black with the words ‘Aku Cintu Kamu’ meaning ‘I love you’. 

“Hey, baby.” 

Alec looked up at Magnus as he sat on the end of the couch, pulling his legs onto his lap, “Max down?”

“Yes, finally, he was not having it tonight.” Magnus rested his head on the back of the couch, “I am glad it is Friday. Not that Max will sleep in, but at least we can be lazy tomorrow.”

Alec nodded, knowing full well that Magnus forgot their plans again. He loved his husband and his husband loved him, but Magnus also loved work. Magnus was lucky he didn’t marry a jealous man, because most people wouldn’t have been able to put up with the consent work taking over their public and personal lives, and when Magnus was home, he always wanted to just be at home. He was an only child with both of his parents and both sets of grandparents gone. The Lightwood family was different. He had both his parents, his sister and her husband and his brother and his wife. Family gatherings were loud and sometimes too much for Magnus. 

Alec put his book away and took the blanket off before twisting around and straddling his husband. Magnus steadied him on instinct, “Baby, I’ll wake up with Max and get him ready while you sleep in. Max and I can go to my parent’s house early and you meet us there later.” He ran his hands through Magnus’ hair. 

“Shit. It’s Izzy’s birthday.” Magnus sighed, “I’m sorry. No, we’ll go together.”

Alec gripped both hands in Magnus’ hair and tugged his head back; he kissed the base of his neck before pulling back to stare into Magnus’ eyes, “No, you will do as I tell you to do. You worked hard on that big account and you need some rest. So rest.”

“Yes, baby,” Magnus purred. 

“Well, rest tomorrow,” Alec grinned against his skin where he was kissing him again, “right now I want you to follow me upstairs so I can have my wicked way with you and wear you out.” He smirked at Magnus’ groan. 

Alec wiggled his ass in the air, pressing his erection against Magnus’ quickening hardening cock, “I’m going to take you upstairs.” Alec whispered, “I’m going to peel all your clothes off.” He moaned from the back of his throat, nipping at the base of Magnus’ neck, “Then I am going to spend the next few hours fucking you until you can’t think straight.”

“Fuck,” Magnus pressed his hips up to meet Alec’s motions, “Don’t toy with me.”

“Whose toying?” Alec grinned, releasing Magnus and standing up, “Come, husband, fuck me.” He hit the off button on the stereo as he went by. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long, Magnus was hot on his heels.


	2. Terrible 3's

Chapter 2 – Terrible 3’s

“You have got to be kidding?” Alec frowned up at Tessa, his co-worker, “He’s only been here for six months and this is his first tech publication position. I’ve been with the company for six years and then another eight-year contract before that. There is no way they passed me to give it to Luca.”

Tessa held out a piece of paper in front of her for him to read. She printed the email because she knew Alec wouldn’t believe her. 

“Luca?” Alec sighed, leaning all the way back in his chair to slow breathe, “I give up.”

“Alec.”

“Nope, I quit.” Alec sighed, deeply this time, “Magnus makes enough money. We would have to put off baby number 2, maybe, but still, I could be a stay at home dad and give up on this fucking bullshit place. Fuck, Magnus doesn’t even want a second baby as much as I do.” He found him speaking and not thinking about his words, the anger taking over for him.

Tessa wanted to cry for him, “This is terrible, I know, I’m sorry, honey.”

He nodded, unable to speak anymore. He was only half kidding when he spoke about quitting. He loved his job. There was nothing like looking over the final tech publication and seeing the finalized book and knowing he helped create it from start to finish. He had a fulfilling position, but his bosses were ruining his drive to work at the company. Their lack of leadership was taking its toll on morale for the entire office, not just Alec, but he was feeling those effects much more today than ever. 

“Valentine Morgenstern is a dick and I’m sorry.” Tessa sighed. 

Alec looked away from Tessa; he didn’t really want to see her or talk to her about the lack of promotion anymore.

A knock came on Tessa’s shut door that drew them out of their conversation, “Come in,” Tessa called out. 

Valentine Morgenstern opened her door with a broad smile, “Tessa, have you seen Ale-“ he stopped, “Ah! You have. Alec, we need to talk about you getting Luca up to speed on the projects we have going.”

“Excuse me?” Alec asked.

“You have been acting Team Lead for the last six months and since Luca has been promoted to the position, I want you to get him up to speed on all the projects. Then I want you to set up a meeting for you, me, and Luca by the end of the week to get us all on the same page on how the team is going to work.”

“Valentine,” Tessa spoke up, “You’re being a little insensitive.”

“That’s no problem, sir,” Alec spoke up to Valentine, his boss. 

“Good.” He turned to leave then whipped around to look back at Alec, “Also, I want you to rearrange your desk. Luca needs the larger desk. I want you in the empty cube next to him. It's small, so maybe you shouldn’t put up the pictures of you and your husband.” Valentine left the room without another word. 

Alec groaned while Tessa sighed, “I’m sorry, Alec. If I could move you to my team, I would.”

“It’s okay,” Alec put his head back against the wall, hitting it harder than he meant to, “I just enjoy working for a homophobic asshole.” He looked back up at her, “There is no way on this planet I am taking those photos down. Magnus and I look amazing on our wedding day with a one-year-old Max in our arms. That photo is staying front and center. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.”

Tessa nodded with a frown. 

…

Alec was on his last nerve for the evening. Max wouldn’t settle down and Magnus was working in his office; he had been on the phone in their office for the last hour with his boss. At dinner, he announced his big promotion right before Alec was going to announce that he was denied his, so that cause him to freeze and not say anything other than congratulations to his husband. They were in the middle of doing the dishes and talking about the best way for Alec to really congratulate him when his boss called and he had been locked away in his office going over some sort of account ever since. 

“Max, enough.” Alec groaned, “You’re about to go to bed for the evening.” It was almost two hours before his scheduled bedtime but Alec wasn’t above putting him in time out on his bed until he fell asleep.

“I want papa.” Max stomped his little foot and crossed his little arms.

Alec was sure Max thought he look tough, but really he just looked adorable the way his messy hair fell in his face, “He’s working. You’re stuck with me.” He knelt in front of Max to get down on his level; he tried to do that more when Max was upset.

“I don’t want you.” Max pushed on his shoulder, “I want papa.”

Alec sighed, allowing Max to take push him back. Being in his son’s face wouldn’t help anyone and it would just upset Max more, “Papa’s working so you can play in your room by yourself or do something with me. Those are your options.”

Max huffed and crossed the hall to his room. 

Alec rolled his eyes and followed him to make sure he was actually going to stay in there for a minute. He only leaned against the door jamb while Max threw himself down on the carpet in the patterned of a mini town with roadways and laid there. Max reached a handout and grabbed a stray car to wheel around. Alec twisted to look at the closed office door with a sigh; maybe he wasn’t so okay with Magnus working all the time as he used to be. 

Alec pulled Max’s door to get it nearly closed and went downstairs to finish cleaning up the kitchen. Maybe he could get a workout in to relieve all the stress he had been feeling lately. 

…

Magnus made his way down the stairs to the basement with Max leaning against his shoulder; he came out of their office to find Max quietly playing in his room and so excited to see him. It was his bedtime and Alec wasn’t upstairs yet. Once they made it to the first floor, Magnus heard the hum of the treadmill and Alec must have been lost in his run. Which was odd, Alec didn’t normally run while he was working and Max was awake in case Max needed something.

“Babe?” Magnus called out to him when he made it close to the treadmill, “You almost done?”

“No,” Alec looked back to them; they were picture perfect and adorable. His gut twisted with pain from his thoughts.

Magnus nodded, “It’s Max’s bedtime. You want to come upstairs with us.”

Alec nodded, but Max cut him off, “No, I want papa.” He buried himself closer to Magnus.

Alec rolled his eyes, “Just put him to bed; I’ll be up later.”

“What the hell happened?” Magnus looked between the two. 

“Max wants to spend time with you.” Alec turned back to his run, “Maybe you should rethink your working at home policy because it’s starting to affect your family negatively.” He didn’t risk turning around. Magnus’ need to work had always been a hot topic; it was one of the reason’s Alec just ignored it so much. It didn’t really bother him; they still got their time, but not so much for Max. It was bothering Max and now that was becoming a problem for Alec. 

“Alec-” Magnus sighed.

“He’s four, Magnus.” Alec found himself speaking louder, he used the excuse that the treadmill was too loud, but that was a lie. “He doesn’t understand; he just knows he wants your attention and he’s going to act out until he gets it.” Alec stepped to the side rails and hit his hand on the stop button harder than he should have. He was stressed. Max stressed him out even more. And he was taking all of his issues out on his husband, which wasn’t fair, “When your home in the evenings and weekends maybe you should be home as a husband and father and not as an account manager.” He knew he hit Magnus out of left field with his frustration, “I’m sorry but Max has been a nightmare because he misses you and you haven’t even noticed.” Alec sighed at the stricken look on Magnus’ face. He was still so mad about his day that he didn’t want to talk anymore. He shouldn’t have said anything to him in the first place, “I need to shower.”

“You’re just going to say what you want and walk away.” Magnus reached out and pulled on Alec’s arm with his free hand when Alec tried to walk by him. 

“Yes, because you are going to have a nightmare of a time getting Max to bed.” Alec didn’t pull back from Magnus, “We can talk after.”

Magnus snorted, “Right.” He stepped back from Alec. 

…

Alec was practically asleep by the time Magnus made it to their bedroom. He raised his eyebrow at him with a smirk. 

“Oh, shut up,” Magnus sighed, “He just wanted more stories.”

“Yeah, because he saw you for a half-hour today and it was during dinner. You didn’t actually give him any attention.” Alec kicked his foot out, hitting Magnus on the lower back, where he sat on the edge of the bed, “I mean it, Magnus. I was fine with the workaholic you before but now, it’s really starting to show in Max’s meltdowns. We need you to stop working when you are off the clock.”

“It’s not that simple.” Magnus stood up so he could turn and look at him, “My job-”

“-is not more important than your family.” Alec cut in, “I know work has always been important for you since it was all you had for so long and I understand that need because it was important to me too but Max is four. He doesn’t understand and he’s going to continue to act out because, in his mind, that’s the only way to get your attention. He’s pushing me away because he wants you since he never gets it.”

“That’s not fair.” Magnus pointed out, “He gets my attention.”

Alec sighed, Magnus had such a fierce look on his face, and there was no way that Alec was going to get through to him, “Okay.” That was his way of ending the conversation. He reached for the book on his bedside table, the latest in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Jr. Series and he was hoping it would be enough to pull his mind away from Magnus and Max for just a minute. 

“That’s it?” Magnus asked, a hint of anger in his voice.

“Nothing I say is going to change your mind. You have dug your heels in, so why am I going to make this into a fight that is not going any way other than to make us both angry.” Alec looked up from his book, “I’m sorry but we can discuss this later when we’re not upset.”

Magnus took a few deep breaths and let himself calm down before speaking again, “Alec, you know I love you and Max, right? I would do anything for this family.”

Alec set his book aside since it appeared that Magnus wasn’t going to let it go, “I love you too, Magnus.” He blinked a few times, “Can we just stop and go to bed?”

Magnus nodded, “Why don’t you tell me about your day? You were supposed to hear about the group lead position sometime this week, weren’t you?”

Alec closed his eyes, not wanting to lie, but not ready to talk about it. He had no choice, “They went in a different direction with another person.”

“Alec-”

“A straighter person. With six months of team lead experience versus my years.” He cut Magnus off, “-And before you say anything. Yes, I’m upset about the unfairness of it. No, I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it.” Alec sighed, finally opening his eyes to see the way Magnus was looking at him, the way he didn’t want him to look. “Yes, I didn’t tell you at dinner because I didn’t want to ruin your good news.” He took a second, “-and I know you love me. You’ve told me that many times tonight and I know.”

Magnus frowned, “You really do know all the questions I was going to ask, don’t you?”

Alec nodded, “Yes. And before you say it’s scary, just know it’s not.”

Magnus huffed out a short laugh, “I love you, you weirdo.”

For the first time all evening, Alec smiled, “I know.” He didn’t want to fight and he started it, he should let them finish it, but he was suddenly too exhausted to try, “It’s early but I’m going to turn in. I can’t really keep my eyes open.”

Magnus moved to go to Alec’s side of the bed leaning down for a kiss, he smiled internally when Alec met him halfway, “I’ll go make sure everything is locked up and then I’ll-” Magnus’s phone rang from his back pocket, cutting him off. 

Alec sighed, pulling back, “Goodnight, Mr. Bane.” He quickly kissed him again and twisted to lay back on the bed, hoping that would be enough to get himself to sleep.

Magnus pulled out his phone to see his boss’s name flash on the screen. His brain flashed to the hurt look on Alec’s face earlier that evening when Max didn’t want him and his insides frayed. Alec was right; he was bringing too much of work home with him. He wasn’t always this way but it seemed to be nonstop for the last year and Max’s attitude was getting worse. Alec didn’t have to say it but he was pulling back from him, and it killing him.


	3. The Fight

Chapter 3 – The Fight  
Alec smiled at Max’s giggle. He pulled him up into his arms and nuzzled his nose in his son’s hair to entice another giggle. He took the day off of work to spend with Max after his daycare was forced closed due to a power outage. Magnus was already at work so Alec decided just to take the day off, Magnus promised to leave work a little early and pick up dinner on the way. Since their semi ‘fight’ last weekend, things had changed, _slightly_ , for the better. Magnus was much better at keeping work at work and home at home, which was one thing Alec wanted him to work on.

Alec sat Max down when they made it through the door of the movie theater. He just carried him through the busy parking lot, which was a u-shape and always dangerous, even on a good day. 

The second Max was sat on the ground, he shot off to the box office desk to look at the man behind the counter and began striking up a conversation. 

“Hi.” His never shy child went full-force into the conversation, “I wanna see a movie please.”

“And which movie would you like to see?” The clerk asked, leaning over the counter to be able to see his short son. 

Alec stepped up behind Max and picked him up; he sat his son up on the counter so the clerk could actually see his son eye-to-eye, “Whatever that Disney movie is that just came out.” Alec said it might now have been the best answer to give, but it was the only one he could provide. 

The clerk laughed and began clicking away at his computer. 

“And popcorn,” Max said.

“Wrong counter buddy,” Alec said while reaching for his wallet. 

The clerk just smiled at them, “He’s adorable.”

“I know.” Max premed up, puffing his chest up as any self-respecting almost-four-year-old would.

Alec shorted out a laugh as the clerk let out a loud laugh that could be heard around the theater lobby, “He’s an only child.” He rolled his eyes. 

“It’s seven-fifty, sir.” The clerk smiled at him. 

Alec handed over his card. He suddenly got a strange feeling from the clerk, like he was flirting with him, but that couldn’t have been right. The clerk was at least ten years younger than him. He was just being nice. 

“Here’s your card.” The clerk handed his card back to him, then slide a piece a paper with a pen over, “sign this for me.” He bent over slightly over another piece of paper. 

Alec signed his name and slid the copy back. 

The clerk gave the receipt to Max with a smile then leaned in to whisper to him while Alec put his card away, “Enjoy your movie buddy. Give that to your dad.” He looked up to Alec with a smile. 

Alec smiled back and picked Max up, “Thank you.” He put Max on the ground and got their tickets from the clerk before heading off to the concessions for Max’s popcorn. 

They got their popcorn, a medium pop, and they made it to their seats, Max turned to him with their receipt, “Here you go daddy, that man wanted you to have this and it has some strange numbers on it.”

Alec frowned at his words than took the receipt. Written in clear, black ink was the name ‘Evan’ and a very legible phone number. Alec looked down to his bare ring finger with an even deeper frown. He was never taking their rings to get cleaned and polished ever again. He was never taking his ring off ever again, for any reason. 

“What is it?” Max asked. 

“Nothing.” Alec shoved the receipt in his pocket to throw away for later. He couldn’t dump it on the ground and he couldn’t leave Max to throw it away. He would have to wait to throw it away on his way out of the theater. 

He went about settling Max into his seat with their popcorn and drink when he noticed a pair of high school-aged boys enter the theater. He paid a little more attention than he would have since it was a children’s movie and they were older with no little kids with them. He had an odd feeling that he knew one of them, but he couldn’t see their faces. 

The movie started and he forgot about the boys until the end of the movie and the boys stood up and kissed. 

Alec put their pop in the empty popcorn bucket and picked Max into his arms. He smiled again when the boys seemed to deepen the kiss. 

He made his way down the stairs when he glanced over and finally caught the face of one of the boys. He stopped on the steps and just stared. He whispered the name, “Raphael?”, but the boy turned away with his friend and quickly headed out of the other door. 

“Daddy?”

“Let’s go home, buddy.” He spoke softly to Max. 

His brain was going a mile a minute, thinking about his boss’ son making out with another boy.

….

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Raphael in the theater kissing that boy. His father is going to freak out. I feel so sorry for him, and there is nothing I can do for him.” Alec spoke softly to Magnus over the dinner table while Magnus dished out their dinner. 

Max was sitting in his chair, bouncing slightly with his excitement from spending the day out and about with Alec. 

“That’s actually really sad,” Magnus commented. 

“I know. I almost want to talk to him, but I know I shouldn’t.”

“Did he see you?”

“Yes,” Alec spoke quickly, “He made eye contact with me and quickly panicked before leaving.” He accepted his plate from Magnus with a smile. He with happy to have dinner with Magnus at home. It had been a while since they had a family dinner. 

“I think we take for granted that we had it so easy we were accepted by our families.”

“My boss is an ass.”

“Alec!” Magnus scolded him before giving a pointed look to their son across from him.

“What’s that?” Max piped in.

Alec winced, “Sorry,” he whispered to Magnus, “Nothing buddy, don’t repeat that. It’s an adult word that I shouldn’t have spoken and I’m sorry for saying.” Alec reached over to his left and played with Max’s black hair, “Okay?”

“Yes, daddy.” He went back to bouncing in his chair then looked down at his plate that Magnus had just sat in front of him with complete disgust, “Eww.” He stuck his tongue out at it while giving it a hard shove away from him. The plate hit his cup of milk, causing some of the white liquid to splash over the edge.

“Max!” Magnus groaned, “Enough of that.”

Alec grabbed for his napkin to mop up the spilled milk, “Magnus, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay.” 

“It’s gross,” Max complained while crossing his arms and sitting back in his chair, getting as far away from the food as possible. 

Alec sighed, “Max, it’s mashed potatoes and chicken; you ate that two nights ago.”

“No.” He spoke back. 

Magnus groans, but took a seat in his own chair, “I give up.” He took a bite of his own food, “Max, it tastes fine. See.”

“No!” Max yelled, echoing off the walls.

“Max, no yelling.” Alec spoke up a little louder than usual without yelling while staying stern, “You know better.”

Magnus looked to Alec, “Did I do something wrong? Get the wrong food?”

“You got exactly what I asked.” Alec looked to him, “Max will eat it. Just give him time.” He reached over and rubbed his hand over Magnus’ bicep, “He’s just picky right now.”

Magnus closed his eyes for a second, relaxing into Alec’s soothing touch. He had missed so many family dinners he was scared he didn’t know what his son would want anymore, “That feels nice.”

Alec leaned towards him, “Come here.” He tugged lightly on Magnus’ shirt. He waited for his husband to get a little closer so he could press their lips together, “Uhhm, rosemary chicken, yum.” He pulled back just a hairsbreadth away, “That taste amazing.”

“Daddy-” Max spoke “-gross.” 

Alec twisted his head to look at his son but didn’t move away from Magnus’ parted lips. He grinned at Max who moved up in his chair, closer to the table and picked up his fork. He looked back at Magnus who was grinning back at him, “Delicious dinner, husband.”

Magnus shook his head before kissing Alec again and pulling back, “You are interesting.”

Alec sighed and sat back, watching Max dig into his potatoes, “I know.”

…

Alec threw himself back on the bed, landing hard on Magnus’ stomach, “Ouch, Alec!” 

He laughed, “Sorry.”

“Max asleep?” He asked softly.

“Yep,” Alec twisted to lay his chin on his hand across Magnus’ stomach to stare up at his husband, “Four books later. I swear that kid needs more and more each night. I think this weekend we should go to the bookstore and get him some more books.”

“Why?” Magnus sat up, causing Alec to roll off of him, “Wasting money so Max can just reread the same five or six books over and over again.” 

Alec frowned, “You never know, we might find a new book he could like better and rotate that in.”

Magnus shook his head, “You can go if you want, but I think it would be a waste of money.”

Alec sat up then; he slowly made his way out of their bed, “Okay, I’m going to go brush my teeth.” He was hurt by Magnus’ words and he knew that hurt was splashed across his face. Magnus’ mood had done a complete one-eighty in the thirty-minutes it had taken him to put Max down to bed and he didn’t know why. At this point, he didn’t care to know why either. 

He made quick work of brushing his teeth and was forced to re-enter their bedroom as their bathroom was connected with no door directly to the hallway. He saw Magnus had his head on his phone, so Alec left their room and headed for the living room. He was so damn sick of whatever mood had taken over their household lately. 

He skipped the living room and went to the kitchen for the beer he knew he just purchased on his latest run to the store. The run that Magnus was supposed to do last weekend, but forgot and Alec was forced to do with Max just days ago. 

He popped the top and swallowed half the beer in one go, before setting it down on the counter and looking out their kitchen window over the sink. 

“Who’s Evan?” Magnus’ voice called from the kitchen entryway.

Alec turned around at the sudden voice, shocking him from his quiet thoughts. He frowned, “What?”

“I found his phone number in your pants while putting them in the hamper.” 

Alec rolled his eyes, “Some stupid twink clerk from the movie theater.” He shook his head, “He put his number on the receipt and handed it to Max before I even knew what happened.”

“But you didn’t throw it away.”

“I didn’t see it until we were already sitting down and I couldn’t leave it on the floor. I was going to throw it away once the movie was over, but I forgot.” Alec picked up his beer and drained the last of it, “Is this why you are pissed? Your shitty ass mood. You think I would actually get some guy’s number?”

“No,” Magnus shook his head, “I don’t know.” He spoke loudly, “We’ve been fighting a lot and I’ve made you so mad lately.”

“Magn-”

“I found the number and I got upset.”

Alec stood there, he couldn’t move, the tears sprang to his eyes before he could think to stop them, “You thought I would honestly keep some guys’ number.” It should have been a question, but it came across as a statement. They were falling apart and he didn’t know why.

“No.” Magnus spoke firmly, “I was still upset that I couldn’t get Max to eat his dinner and things with work. I just-” He sighed, “What made him think you were available?” He questioned. 

“I don’t know.” Alec shook his head. He stalked to the trash and slammed the bottle inside, causing it to crash and smash once inside. It made a loud noise that echoed off the walls, “I didn’t do anything except talk to him long enough to buy movie tickets.” He held up his hand, “I can’t do this.” He made his way to the entryway, but stopped when Magnus didn’t move, “Get out of my way.”

Magnus didn’t move, “Alec.”

“Magnus.” Alec spoke back to him, “I always say everyone’s feelings are valid, but I can’t believe you would think I would cheat on you.”

“I didn’t think you would cheat on me.”

“No, you just thought I would keep some guys number.”

“But you did keep some guys number.” Magnus stated as matter-of-factly as he could, while lowering his voice, “I could never think you would cheat on me.”

Alec looked up at Magnus, really looked at him. They were growing apart and fast and he didn’t know how to stop it. “What has happened to us? You think work is more important than your family lately, not to mention how little you think of me. And I can’t stop being angry at you.”

“Alec,” Magnus tilted his head, “stop.” He whispered, “It’s nothing like that. Just stop. I love you and Max more than life. I would do anything for you both. Take a deep breath and relax. I would never think you would cheat on me.”

“I hated that the clerk did that. I shoved it in my pocket and forgot about it because it didn’t matter to me. There wasn’t a trash can near me and then Raphael was there. It wasn’t important. No one is important to me but you and Max. I have been thinking about nothing but wanting another baby with you, but now, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He frowned, “We aren’t in a good place and bringing another child into that would be a bad idea.”

“Alec-” Magnus spoke, moving toward him, but Alec stepped back.

“I’ll call the adoption agency in the morning. You were right, another baby isn’t right.” He shook his head. 

“Alec-” Magnus’ voice became the same stern voice he used when Max got out of hand, “I know things have been out of control lately, but making decisions when we are both emotional like this is not a good idea. So just stop.”

Alec nodded, “You’re right. But I’m not making an emotional decision, I’m agreeing to something you wanted.” He let his anger boil back up inside of him. He couldn’t win with his family anymore. He couldn’t win when he asked for what he wanted and he couldn’t win when he gave Magnus what he wanted, “I just can’t do right by you anymore. I wanted a baby, you didn’t. So I give in to what you wanted and it’s not right. I want you to stop working so much and spend more time with our son and its fight. I forget to throw away a useless piece of paper and I’m- I’m- whatever.” Alec threw his hands up in the air, losing steam as he went further and further with his words pouring from his soul, “Whatever we are.”

Magnus reached for Alec and pulled him roughly to him, “Stop,” he pressed his lips softly to his husbands, far enough away so he could still whisper what he needed to say, “I should have just asked you about the number instead of getting all defensive. I know our problems have been boiling over lately with both of us being super stressed and I’m sorry. It’s okay, we’re okay, and everything will be okay.”

“What if it’s not?” Alec whispered back.

“No such thing.” Magnus kissed Alec, roughly, pulling him deeper into his embrace. 

Alec pulled back after a minute, “I’m scared.” Alec admitted, barely speaking the words out loud.

“I know, I can hear it in your voice and see it in your eyes and feel it in your touch, but please know that our love is deep and forever. We will never give up on each other. I refuse to let either of us give up.”

Alec sank his body against Magnus. He couldn’t figure out his problem, “Magnus, I’m sorry.” He finally pulled away from him, sighing as he went, “We can’t keep doing this. Getting upset, blowing up, then saying we’re sorry.”

“I know.”

Alec laced his hands with Magnus and led him out of the room, turning off the room as they left to head back to their bedroom.


	4. The Makeup

Chapter 4 – The Makeup  
Magnus set the candles up and lit them since the text from Alec just came in that he was almost home. He lied to Alec and said he picked Max from daycare, but instead he had dropped him off at his in-laws to surprise Alec with an in-home date night. He set their table with a nice dinner with takeout from their favorite restaurant and their fancy china. Instead of wearing sweats Magnus had kept his suit on. 

After the last few months and they fight the other night, Magnus decided they needed night together. They needed a night just the two of them together to get things right. They needed to talk and get back who they always have been. He missed his husband.

He heard the front door and Magnus made his way out to the living room to greet him, “Hey, babe,” he smiled to Alec. 

Alec looked up from taking his shoes off, “Please tell me we can order in tonight, I’m too tired to cook.”

“Yes, we can order in.” Magnus smiled. He took Alec’s briefcase out of his hands to set it aside, “I actually already ordered dinner, so let’s eat.”

“Max already in the kitchen?” Alec stripped out of his suit jacket to throw over the back of the arm of the couch.

Magnus shook his head, “About that,” He grinned, “Max isn’t here.” He leaned in to kiss the crease that formed on Alec’s forehead, “He’s with the in-laws. Tonight is all about us. I wanted you to myself tonight.”

“You pawned our child off so you could get lucky?” Alec questioned.

Magnus laughed and kissed Alec lightly, “Yes.” He nodded, “I wanted to spend some time with you. I want to talk. I want to just be with you for a nice just us.” 

Alec smiled at him, “Yeah?”

“Come with me.” Magnus pulled Alec with him into the kitchen. 

Alec turned to look at Magnus then looked back at the table, “Magnus,” he whispered his husband’s name. He felt the tears prickling the back of his eyes. 

“I left my work computer at work.” Magnus kissed the back of Alec’s neck, “I want to send the evening talking about what we need to talk about to fix what we need fixing. I want to get back to us and I think we needed this.”

“I never thought of this.” Alec grinned, “Thank you.” He felt his cheeks hurt with how wide he was grinning. 

Magnus laughed, short and loud, “And you’re the romantic one.” He pointed out with an ease of his laugh, “Let’s each before it gets cold.

“Let’s,” Alec laughed when Magnus pulled out his chair for him. This was not an ordinary dinner for them and he couldn’t stop himself from the bubbling laughing that came from him. He was giggle and in love and he was going to cherish this night for the rest of their lives together. 

Alec took his seat and groaned, “Oh my god, you got Mario’s!” He winked at Magnus, “You really went all out for tonight.”

Magnus smiled at him, “We need this.”

Alec looked at him, “I’m really sorry Magnus. I know I’ve been stressed at work and I’ve been taking it out on you. That’s unfair to you and to Max. I don’t know how to make that up to you.”

Magnus nodded, “I think there has been a little bit of that from both of us.” He slid his hand across the table palm up. He waited for Alec to lay his hand on top of his to interlace their fingers, “We are going through a stressful moment in time, but we will make through to the other side.” 

Alec gave him a sort of sad smile, “I’ve missed us lately.”

“I know, baby.” Magnus leaned forward and kissed Alec with a quick press of their lips, “We have never been stressed like this. We need to find a better way to coup as a couple.” 

Alec nodded, “What do you suggest?”

“Tuesday and Thursday will be the only nights I bring work home with me. I will never bring it home with me on the weekends unless we discuss it first.” Magnus brought their joined hands up to his lips to kiss the back of Alec’s hand.

“Thank you,” Alec whispered, he was choking back tears, “I promise to begin searching for a new job.”

“I also don’t want you to stop trying for another child. I want a big family with you. I want Max to have siblings.” 

Alec couldn’t stop the tears then, “You said-”

“I know what I said back before we submitted the paperwork.” Magnus kissed Alec’s hand again, “I was thinking about my promotion and not about my family. You were right a few weeks ago, Max is acting out because he misses me, and I need to focus a little more on my family.”

“We both need to change.” Alec added, “You are not alone. Our family is changing and we need to change with it. I feel better.” He smiled wide at his husband.

“Me too.” Magnus grinned, “Let’s eat.” He released Alec’s hand. 

The conversation went to a relaxed tone and on to daily life. They ate their food with patches of talking and pieces of quiet. They ate all of their food before standing up to do their dishes together. Alec took the washing part while Magnus took over-drying their dishes. They laughed and stood close. 

Once they finished, Magnus took the rag out of Alec’s hands and tugged him in close, “I want you.” He spoke firmly. 

Alec smiled, “Yeah?” He ran his hands up and down Magnus’ chest, tugging on the buttons on his dress shirt when he made it to his neck. He slowly undid each button one-by-one as he made his way back down Magnus’ chest. Magnus grinned as Alec dropped his shirt to the floor. 

Magnus began walking and pushing Alec as he went, “I’m going to fuck you on the couch. I can’t make it up the stairs.”

Alec grinned with a quick laugh as Magnus pushed him hard on the couch.

“Magnus,” Alec a breathless moan out as he hit the couch, “You are terrible.”

“I’m on a mission,” He knelt on the floor in front of Alec with a huge grin, “It’s been a while for us.”

Alec had to nod. He stretched out to put his hands on either side of Magnus’ face, “I’m loving tonight.”

…

Magnus sat up when the pounding on the door came. They had both fallen asleep on the couch after their much needed intimate time on the couch, but the pounding was loud and didn’t stop. 

“Are we expecting anyone?” Alec’s voice came out groggy and rough from the fucking Magnus had given him. 

“No,” He sighed, “Do we have to answer it?”

Alec was already reaching for his pants, “I don’t think they are going away.”

They both hurried with their pants. Alec picked up their boxers and stuffed them under the blanket they were both just under. He didn’t know where their ties had gone to or Magnus’ shirt. His was on the chair on the other side of the room and at that point he didn’t care to put it back on. His pants were riding low on his hips, but he went to the door and yanked it open rough, “What?” He spoke loudly, instantly regretting it when he got a picture of the person on the other side, “Fuck.” He whispered. He knew his voice sounded off and this was not the time to be speaking to his boss. 

“We need to talk.” Valentine pushed pass Alec to enter the house. 

“Sure, come on in.” Alec closed the door behind him. 

Magnus frowned at him, “What is this?”

“Shirts optional in this house?” Valentine spoke eyeing both Alec and Magnus. 

Alec rolled his eyes behind his back, “It’s our house on a Friday night, we can wear what we want.” He walked around him to get eye-to-eye, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“We need to talk about Raphael.”

Magnus went over to the chair to grab Alec’s shirt and hand it to him before going into the kitchen where he knew his shirt had been removed. He came back within seconds; his shirt in hand and ready to put it on. Alec still had not put his shirt on, he was just staring at his boss. “Do you want to get to the point of your visit other than its about your son?”

“I found him with that boy in his room and he told me you knew about it.”

“What?” Alec frowned.

“That boy.” Valentine waved his hands around widely, “I found them in his bed.”

Alec nodded, “Okay, you found Raphael and his boyfriend?” He was trying to understand what his boss was trying to tell him. 

“Yes,” He yelled out, “-and you knew.”

“I knew they were in bed together?” He questioned, “How would I know they were in bed together?”

“No, you knew they were a couple.”

“I had no idea they were a couple,” Alec’s frown deepened, “I saw Raphael kiss a boy, but how would I know that was his boyfriend.”

“Don’t say that word.” Valentine spat out.

Magnus stepped up behind Alec then. He did not like how angry ---- was and he was not willing to let him near his husband, “Listen, you need to calm down.” 

“Excuse me?”

“You are in my house and you need to calm down or you need to leave. You are way too upset about a situation that is not our concern.” Magnus put his hand on the center of Alec’s back, “You’re son having a boyfriend is not a reason to be this upset, or yelling at us.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you saw them?” He spoke a little more calmly but still upset.

“It was not my place to tell on your child to his father.” Alec finally got around to putting on his shirt, “Raphael wasn’t doing anything illegal in front of me, why would I turn him in?” 

Valentine stood there, his mouth hanging open, “How could you do this? How could you not tell me?”

“It’s not our place to spill your son’s secrets.” Magnus cut in. 

“My son is not allowed to be gay. I have made it very clear he is never to see that boy again. It’s absolutely disgus-” Valentine stopped himself mid-sentence. 

Magnus came around Alec and stared him down, “Get the fuck out of my house.” He glared at Alec’s boss, “You are not welcome here, I don’t care who’s boss you are.”

Alec was stunned to silence. He knew his boss wasn’t his fan, but he never thought those words would come out of his mouth in his own home. He instantly wanted to disappear in his own home. He wanted his boss gone. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. 

“I said get out.” Magnus wouldn’t let Valentine speak. He just wanted him out of his house. He felt Alec stiffen and just stop. 

Valentine nodded, “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Alec nodded to acknowledge his response. He wanted for their door to close before sighing, “I can’t work for that man anymore.”

Magnus pulled on Alec’s arm to twist him around to face each other, “With this new promotion I’m up for we don’t need you to work. I want you to quit. I don’t want you anywhere near that man. He’s got an anger management issue and homophobic.”

Alec nodded, “I’m done on Monday.”

Magnus pulled Alec into his arms to keep him close.


	5. Home, Sweet Home

Chapter 5 – Home, Sweet Home

Monday morning was bringing many changes for Alec, he spent a little extra time dropping Max off at daycare that morning as he had to disenroll him from the program. He would be beginning school within the next six months, but since Alec was quitting his job this morning and becoming a stay at home dad for a little while they would save some money by keeping Max out of daycare.

He finally made it into work over an hour late, but he was over his will to care.

"I've never known you to be so damn late." Tessa called out to him.

Alec turned to look at her. She was standing next to Valentine which helped him. He took a deep breath before striding over to them, "I have to stay at Max's daycare for a little extra time."

"Everything okay?" Tessa asked.

"Yeah," Alec answered, "I had to un-enroll him from daycare and the paperwork took longer than I thought it would."

"You're taking Max out of daycare?" Valentine asked.

Alec nodded, "I've decided to quit my job and be a stay-at-home dad." He slightly enjoyed their shocked looks on their faces, "I can't work for a homophobic jerk anymore." He didn't wait for a response as he strode past them to head to his desk. He didn't care for much in his desk, but he cared for the two photos on his desk. He needed those back.

He heard Tessa than Valentine calls out his name, but he wasn't stopping. He went to his desk to grab his photos and dig through his desk to make sure there was nothing else he missed along the way.

"Alec, what are you doing?" Tessa asked from the high wall of his desk, "Are you being serious?"

Alec opens and closed each draw looking for anything else he needed to take home with him, "I'm done."

"The promotion really hit you hard, didn't it?" Valentine asked, as if he didn't know he was the problem.

Alec whipped around to face him, his eyes glaring at his now ex-boss, "You're a real piece of work." He smirked at Valentine, "Karma is going to come back to you and I hope I'm there to see that downfall."

"Stop speaking to me, you no longer want to walk here." Valentine sneered.

"With fucking pleasure." Alec shoved past Valentine and headed to the second floor where the human resource office was.

It didn't take him long to get everything done that he needed, including all of the extra paperwork. Thankfully his and Max's insurance was covered under Magnus since his company had better coverage.

By the time he made it out to his car it was almost noon and he was exhausted. He turned on his car and then stopped. Resting his head on the back of his headrest he sighed. The heavyweight on his chest seemed to lift, but not completely.

He was startled when his phone blared loudly in the low humming car, "Hello?"

"Mr. Lightwood?"

"Yes, this is him." Alec answered.

The woman sighed, "This is Rebecca Wright from Saving Grace Adoption. I'm sorry to be calling you, but your original caseworker had to go on leave due to a family emergency."

Alec sat up straight in the car, his heart racing. He set his hand on his heart to just listen to her, "Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything is okay for Mr. Mills." He was suddenly scared for the call, "What can I help you with, Ms. Wright."

"Mr. Mills was supposed to call you and I just noticed that he never did." She paused, Alec could hear her shoving some papers around, "You're application with Saving Grace has been denied and your case with us has been closed."

"Excuse me?" Alec frowned, "And he just forgot to tell us?"

She sighed, "I'm not sure why he never called you, but there was a note in your file about not fitting with our values."

"Values?"

"I'm not sure more than that. There was no other note, but it has been signed off by the parents and I was asked to call you." She made another nose with the papers in the background, "I'm sorry, sir."

Alec looked down at the phone until the screen went black. He couldn't place the feelings running through him other than hurt. They didn't meet their values. The word sounded dirty bouncing around his brain. Values. Gay. They got turned away from the adoption agency after months because he and Magnus were a married gay couple. He felt his insides burn with the hurt and the anger.

He brought the phone back to his ears when he finally managed enough strength to dial Magnus.

"Hey, babe, how did the quitting go?"

Alec sighed, "Fine, I felt amazing walking in there giving Valentine my snide remarks, quitting, and then leaving."

"What's wrong?" Magnus asked.

Alec could practically hear the frown coming through the phone. He knew he had to get it out of the way, just rip the bandaid off, and tell his husband what happened, "I made it to my car when I got a call from the agency. They are canceling our request for a baby because we don't meet their values." He found himself sneering at the last word. There was a long pause, too long for Alec's liking, "Magnus." He tried again, "Magnus, are you there?"

"They said that?" He spoke softly, "They said we didn't meet their values?"

"Something about not fitting within their values or something, but yeah."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Alec pulling the phone away from his ear to look at the screen to verify he was actually speaking to Magnus Bane before putting his phone back to his ear, "Babe?"

"Who the fuck do these people think they are? Turning us down because we're gay. What right do they-"

"Magnus!" Alec yelled into his phone, "Stop." he finally spoke a little more softly to him, "It's okay. Well, it's not-" He shook his head even though Magnus couldn't see him, "-it's not okay, but it's okay."

"What?"

Magnus sounded breathless to Alec which caused a smile to form on his face, "This is our sign. This is the sign that it wasn't the right time and that's what makes it okay. Yeah, I'm angry and hurt, but I'm okay. We've been stressed and fighting and a baby would just add to that. So, it's okay." He waited a moment for Magnus to speak and got scared that he said the wrong thing when Magnus didn't speak to him, "Right?" Magnus still didn't respond to him, He felt the tears then, "It's okay, right?"

"Yeah, baby, it's okay." Magnus' voice came in softer on the phone, "I know you really wanted this chance and I'm sorry it didn't happen, but it will happen. When it's right, it will happen."

"Right." Alec echoed back to him.

"Baby, where are you?"

"The parking lot of work."

"Come to my work."

"NO," Alec responded fast, "I mean, I need to finish my errands. I have a lot to do and I promised Max I would get him early from daycare."

"Alec, are you going to be okay? Do you want me to get Max and meet you at home?"

"I love you. I love you so much it hurts." Alec leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes, "I know things have been hard and all the changes we are making are going to be an even harder adjustment, but I know we can make it."

Magnus gave him a smile laugh, "Of course we can, I never have any doubt otherwise."

Alec gave a sigh, "I should get going before security has me removed." He started his car then, "I'll see you for dinner, try not to be too late."

"I love you." Magnus took a deep breath, "I will be home by 6, I promise."

Alec hung up his phone and set it down in its usual spot in the center console. When he woke up this morning, he added one more stop on his mission for the day. One he did not tell his husband or son about and one he did not plan on ever plan on telling them since it could backfire and get him into a lot of trouble, but it didn't sit right with him until he did something about it.

It was only a twenty-minute drive with the bright morning, post-rush hour traffic. He had only been to the house once before and it didn't take him long to find it the second time around. He was banking on someone being home who could help him. He steeled his nerves and got out of the car. The walked to the front door was short and painless, it was going to be the rest that would break his heart.

He knocked and waited. Than repeated the process twice with a few minutes in-between before turning his back.

That's when he froze at the sound of the door opening. He turned around and felt his mouth fall open at the sight before.

"That fucker did this to you, didn't he?" He spoke with a calm, Alec didn't know he had.

Raphael sighed. He stood in the doorway with one hand on the door that was just barely cracked open, but it was open enough for Alec to see all he needed to see. He went to shut the door.

But Alec was faster, putting a hand up and his foot in the entryway, "Raphael?" He questioned again, with just his name, "Talk to me."

Raphael looked around the yard that he could see before opening the door wider, the only gesture that Alec could come in.

Alec came in closing the door behind him. He locked it with the deadbolt and the chain in case Valentine decided to make a surprise visit back to the house. He followed the teen into the kitchen which had sunlight pouring in from two skylights. The bright sun lit up Raphael's bruised and battered face. Alec could only guess what the rest of him looked like.

Raphael had a black eye that was tinged purple, while his right eye was completely swollen shut. His right cheek was purple and blue with a bandaid in the center that Alec assumed was covering a cut. His lip was red and swollen with a deep cut splitting the left side. There was no bandaid over the lip, but there was some sort of cream. Raphael or someone was taking care of his cuts.

"How bad is it?"

Raphael lifted up his shirt to show a mixture of purple, blue, and yellow bruises. He did a small circle, showing Alec his front and back. The new and the old.

Alec froze with his arm lifted, his hand outstretched as if he was going to touch Raphael, "How long has he been beating you?"

He dropped his shirt, it covered the bruises, but Alec would never be able to unsee them again. "Ages," Raphael whispered.

The whisper seemed to echo off the white walls of the empty room. The simple word echoed around Alec's brain. He had known Raphael and met him at parties and around the office for ages.

"Go upstairs. Pack a bag of all the clothes you will need for a while."

"Where are you taking me?" He didn't seem scared to Alec; he appeared blank.

Alec just looked at him, "To the police, then to my house. You will not stay in this house another minute."

"I can't go to the police. He will kill me."

"He will have to go through me." Alec finally lowered his arm as if noticing it there for the first time.

"Ale-" Raphael stood frozen.

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as a punching bag then grow up to use someone else as a punching bag, because that's the cycle." Alec wasn't yelling, but he knew he was too loud for the empty room, "That's the cycle that most abuse victims fall into unless they get help. You are a kind, sweet, innocent, gay kid, that just needs a chance and I am going to give you that chance." He calmed down, "My husband, my son, and I will give you that chance, but we can't do that if you won't let us." Raphel wasn't moving so Alec tried one more time, "I quit today. I quit because your father is a homophobic asshole and I can't stand working for him. I came here today hoping you would be here to tell you that you have a safe place with us."

"How did you know I was hurt?" He asked in a small voice.

"I didn't." Alec was quick to respond, "I didn't." He repeated, "But when Valentine showed up at my house screaming at me, I knew something was going to happen and I couldn't deal with that." He took a small step forward, "Go pack a bag and let me take you to the police."

…

Magnus sat Max down just into the door and sighed when the four-year-old zoomed out of sight into the kitchen in seconds. He got a weird text from Alec around 1 stating that his errands were taking longer than expected and asked if he could leave work by five to get Max by six when daycare closed. Then at five-thirty, he got another text saying he was done and he just got home.

"Alec?" He called out, "Baby?"

"In the kitchen." Alec's voice called out, then Max's small voice spoke up, "Who are you?"

Magnus frowned, kicking off his shoes, and met his family in the kitchen with the same thought at the teen sitting at their kitchen table.

"Max, be nice, this is Raphael." Alec looked at Magnus, who just entered. Keeping his eyes on Magnus, he spoke to their son, "Max, why don't you show Raphael your room? I think he would love to see those books we bought over the weekend."

Max eyed his parents, shifting his glances from Alec to Magnus before settling on Raphael, "Daddy got me, Bruce, the bear." He spoke in all of his four-year-old innocence.

Raphael looked at Alec, "Uhm-"

"Go on, dinner will be ready in a half-hour and Magnus is going to help me." Alec gave him a soft smile.

Magnus watched Raphael follow Max out of the room, "Uhm, husband?" He pointed a figure towards the open doorway leading out of the kitchen, "What was this errand you had to run this afternoon?"

"Originally, it was just to tell Raphael its okay for him to be who he is since I knew his father wasn't going to be the one to do it. Then I saw his face." Alec stared at Magnus, eye-to-eye, face-to-face. He needed his husband to see him, "I couldn't leave him there."

"No, of course not, his face looks horrible, but Alec-" he sighed, "Did you steal a teenage?" Magnus asked.

"No," Alec's voice rose slightly, "I got him to tell me everything. Then I made him pack a bag and I took him to the police. That's what was taking longer than I thought and I needed you to pick up Max."

"Valentine beat him for being gay?" Magnus asked, taking the seat that Raphael vacated.

"Some of the bruises on his back were yellow." Alec answered with a sad sigh, "I think Valentine beat him for a lot more than being gay. He's missed a lot of school and social services have been to the house before. His mother ran off almost a year ago. No one at work had no clue." Alec took the seat next to Magnus.

"God damn," Magnus whispered just under his breath. He would have rather shouted his words, but the boys were just above them, "He's staying here?"

"He's going to be eighteen in two weeks, but since he's missed more than six months at school, he can graduate. He doesn't want to go back to school, but I thought him if you and I agreed, then he could stay here, but he would have to be enrolled as a senior next year."

"Next year?" Magnus eyed, "He can't go back now."

"School's over in two weeks. By the time we got the social workers to enroll him, classes would be over. He can enroll, but he can't start. He asked about an online high school or homeschool and I said we'd see." Alec realized his slip the second it left his lips. He spoke to Raphael as if he was already theirs and that was a problem.

Magnus smirked at Alec's wide eyes, "It's okay." He leaned over and kissed the side of Alec's face, next to his now-closed eyes, "He's staying." Alec's eyes opened to lock with Magnus', "What did the social worker say?"

"He's only released for the night into our care, they didn't have any beds available, and since Raphael said he would run away unless he stayed with them, the worker relented. I have to take him back tomorrow for paperwork. If you could come wi-"

"I have a meeting at nine that is handing over a client's folder if it wasn't VIP I'd reschedule, but I can take the rest of the day off. Say around eleven? I can meet you guys there?"

Alec nodded, "I meeting is at ten, so meet us there. I'll give you her business card."

"All this for two weeks?" Magnus asked, "Can't he just stay here? He's close enough."

"Not according to the law." Alec ran his hands over Magnus' arms that now rested on the table, "We're doing this?" He asked in a soft whisper.

Magnus leaned forward, setting his cheek on the back of Alec's hand, "We got a baby; he's just seven-years-old." He whispered back with a grin as he looked up to watch the emotions play on his husband's face.

"You get the boys, and I'll get dinner." Alec kissed Magnus' forehead.

Magnus went to the doorway after untangling himself from Alec, "Boys, dinner!" He yelled up the stairs much to the annoyance that flashed on Alec's face, "We are a family of boys now."

Alec smiled as his boys came into the room, Max at lighting speed, and Raphael at a slower pace. He looked to Magnus with a bright smile; this was his family. The family he had been waiting for. Something settled in his chest and he felt his entire body relax.

.The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting late! I got home from school late and I forgot. I hope you guys enjoyed this angsty little MALEC story! 
> 
> Love, BellaMorgan  
> Bellamorganauthor@gmail.com


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